These positions are located in the United Nations Secretariat including, Peacekeeping Operations, Special Political Missions, or electoral projects of the United Nations Agencies, Funds, and Programs (AFP). The Principal Electoral Affairs Officer reports to the Head of Entity or the deputy. In certain circumstances, the Principal Electoral Affairs Officer role is closely integrated to the work and team of the Resident Coordinator, UNDP Resident Representative/Country Director or UNOPS Country Director. The Principal Electoral Affairs Officer provides authoritative advice and counsel to senior UN officials, national and international officials; develops strategies in the electoral field to ensure that electoral operations are conducted with the technical assistance extended by the UN System.

Within delegated authority, the Principal Electoral Affairs Officer will be responsible for the following duties: 1. Designs, leads, supervises and coordinates the implementation of electoral programs and processes in the following areas, as required: legal drafting and reform, complaints and dispute resolution, overall process management, planning and budgeting, electoral infrastructure development, electoral operations including field operations, procurement, logistics, security, information and communications technology, data processing and analysis, procedures, training, external relations, public information, outreach and media relations, civic and voter education, graphic design, administrative support, support to media, political parties and civil society, gender mainstreaming, capacity-building, institutional reform and development as well as project and programme management and support. 2. Leads, coordinates and supervises the provision of support, technical assistance and advice to national counterparts and their institutions in the above areas and provides high-level assistance and advice as required. Analyzes problems identifying the course of action taking into consideration different conflicting elements that might affect the functional areas in the mission. 3. Leads the project and programme management and support, including budget management and monitoring, and reporting of results to national counterparts, donors and UN bodies. 4. Monitors the impact of domestic and international obligations and processes on female participation and provides advice to the Electoral Management Bodies on appropriate corrective measures. 5. Provides overall donor liaison and management. 6. Provides expert electoral/political advice to Head of the UN presence on the ground, and also to the international community and UNHQ as required/appropriate. 7. Designs, leads, coordinates and supervises the implementation of strategies and programmes to build the capacity of national counterparts and strengthen national institutions. 8. Supervises and manages the performance of national and international staff including identification and resolution of multi-aspect problems which affect all major areas of electoral work. 9. Establishes and maintains professional and productive partnerships with national counterpart institutions and other key stakeholders in the electoral process. 10. Establishes effective communication mechanisms, regularly briefs senior UN officials, partners, donors, counterparts as well as other key stakeholders on the electoral process and provides regular reports, including to the head of the UN/mission as well as senior officials in UN headquarters. 11. Leads team members’ efforts to collect and analyze data and provides insight to identify trends or patterns for data-driven planning, decision-making, presentation, and reporting. Ensures that everyone can discover, access, integrate and share the data they need. 12. Performs other related duties as required.

Professionalism: Demonstrates in-depth understanding of and ability to evaluate electoral processes; knowledge of all aspects of electoral processes and their technical and political implications. Strong analytical and evaluative skills combined with good judgement. Knowledge of electoral operations in a UN or similar multilateral environment. Ability to develop the unit/division’s strategic direction and ability to transform it into a results-oriented workplan. Ability to place the significance of electoral processes in a political context. Ability to manage and coordinate multileveled projects, including through effective engagement with institutional partners and donors to secure resources and ensure delivery of complex electoral initiatives. Ability to analyze and interpret data in support of decision-making and convey resulting information to management. Shows pride in work and in achievements. Demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter. Is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results. Is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns. Shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges. Remains calm in stressful situations. Accountability: Takes ownership of all responsibilities and honors commitments. Delivers outputs for which one has responsibility within prescribed time, cost and quality standards. Operates in compliance with organizational regulations and rules. Supports subordinates, provides oversight and takes responsibility for delegated assignments. Takes personal responsibility for his/her own shortcomings and those of the work unit, where applicable. Client orientation: Considers all those to whom services are provided to be “clients” and seeks to see things from clients’ point of view. Establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect. Identifies clients’ needs and matches them to appropriate solutions. Monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients’ environment to keep informed and anticipate problems. Keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects. Meets timeline for delivery of products or services to clients. Leadership: Serves as a role model that other people want to follow. Empowers others to translate vision into results. Is proactive in developing strategies to accomplish objectives. Establishes and maintains relationships with a broad range of people to understand needs and gain support. Anticipates and resolves conflicts by pursuing mutually agreeable solutions. Drives for change and improvement; does not accept the status quo. Shows the courage to take unpopular stands. Provides leadership and takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work; demonstrates knowledge of strategies and commitment to the goal of gender balance in staffing. Judgement/decision making: Identifies the key issues in a complex situation, and comes to the heart of the problem quickly. Gathers relevant information before making a decision. Considers positive and negative impacts of decisions prior to making them. Takes decisions with an eye to the impact on others and on the Organization. Proposes a course of action or makes a recommendation based on all available information. Checks assumptions against facts. Determines that the actions proposed will satisfy the expressed and underlying needs for the decision. Makes tough decisions when necessary.

Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in political science, international economics, international relations, law, public administration, or a related field is required. A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree.

Not available.

A minimum of fifteen years of progressively responsible experience in elections and related areas is required. Experience in supervising, implementing, supporting or advising on electoral processes is required. Experience in managing and coordinating a large diverse team at the senior level is required.

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this job opening, either English

or

French is required. The table below shows the minimum required level for each skill in these languages, according to the UN Language Framework (please consult

https://languages.un.org

for details).

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Required Languages

Language

Reading

Writing

Listening

Speaking

English

UN Level III

UN Level III

UN Level III

UN Level III

French

UN Level III

UN Level III

UN Level III

UN Level III

Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by competency-based interview.

The United Nations Secretariat is committed to achieving 50/50 gender balance in its staff. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for this position. Individual contractors and consultants (Non-Staff Personnel) who have worked within the UN Secretariat in the last six months, irrespective of the administering entity, are ineligible to apply for professional and higher temporary or fixed-term positions and their applications will not be considered. At the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the recruitment and employment of staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity, with due regard to geographic diversity. All employment decisions are made on the basis of qualifications and organizational needs. The United Nations is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. The United Nations recruits and employs staff regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, race, religious, cultural and ethnic backgrounds or disabilities. Reasonable accommodation for applicants with disabilities may be provided to support participation in the recruitment process when requested and indicated in the application. All applicants are strongly encouraged to apply on-line as soon as possible after the job opening has been posted and well before the deadline stated in the job opening. Online applications will be acknowledged where an email address has been provided. If you do not receive an email acknowledgement within 24 hours of submission, your application may not have been received. In such cases, please resubmit the application, if necessary. If the problem persists, please seek technical assistance through the Inspira "Need Help?" link. For this roster exercise, applicants from the following Member States, which are unrepresented or under-represented in the UN Secretariat as of as of 31 October 2025 are strongly encouraged to apply: Brunei Darussalam, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Grenada, Kiribati, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Liechtenstein, Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of), Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Sao Tome and Principe, Timor-Leste, Tuvalu, United Arab Emirates, Vanuatu, Andorra, Angola, Belize, China, Cuba, Germany, Guinea-Bissau, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Libya, Malta, Monaco, Oman, Panama, Paraguay, Russian Federation, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Turkmenistan, United States of America.

According to article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. Candidates will not be considered for employment with the United Nations if they have committed violations of international human rights law, violations of international humanitarian law, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, or sexual harassment, or if there are reasonable grounds to believe that they have been involved in the commission of any of these acts. The term “sexual exploitation” means any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another. The term “sexual abuse” means the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions. The term “sexual harassment” means any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that might reasonably be expected or be perceived to cause offence or humiliation, when such conduct interferes with work, is made a condition of employment or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment, and when the gravity of the conduct warrants the termination of the perpetrator’s working relationship. Candidates who have committed crimes other than minor traffic offences may not be considered for employment. Due regard will be paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible. The United Nations places no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs. The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment. Reasonable accommodation may be provided to applicants with disabilities upon request, to support their participation in the recruitment process. By accepting a letter of appointment, staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General, who may assign them to any of the activities or offices of the United Nations in accordance with staff regulation 1.2 (c). Further, staff members in the Professional and higher category up to and including the D-2 level and the Field Service category are normally required to move periodically to discharge functions in different duty stations under conditions established in ST/AI/2023/3 on Mobility, as may be amended or revised. This condition of service applies to all position specific job openings and does not apply to temporary positions. Applicants are urged to carefully follow all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira, and to refer to the Applicant Guide by clicking on “Manuals” in the “Help” tile of the inspira account-holder homepage. The evaluation of applicants will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted in the application according to the evaluation criteria of the job opening and the applicable internal legislations of the United Nations including the Charter of the United Nations, resolutions of the General Assembly, the Staff Regulations and Rules, administrative issuances and guidelines. Applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their personal profile and qualifications according to the instructions provided in inspira to be considered for the current job opening. No amendment, addition, deletion, revision or modification shall be made to applications that have been submitted. Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to reference checks to verify the information provided in the application. All external candidates recruited in accordance with section ‎2.2 (a) of ST/AI/2025/3 for a fixed term appointment without limitation and all external candidates recruited in accordance with section 2.2. (c) of ST/AI/2025/3 for a fixed term appointment limited to the entity are subject to an initial probationary period of one year under a fixed-term appointment. Job openings advertised on the Careers Portal will be removed at 11:59 p.m. (New York time) on the deadline date.

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